mailed fist

See synonyms for mailed fist on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. superior force, especially military force, when presented as a threat: The country showed its mailed fist in negotiations.

  2. brutal or naked power, especially coercive force: the mailed fist hidden in the velvet glove.

Origin of mailed fist

1
First recorded in 1895–1900

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mailed fist in a sentence

  • To the north of Australia's slice of this wonderland the Kaiser was squeezing a hunk of the same island in his mailed fist.

  • Again the mailed fist struck the panel; an echo alone replied.

    The Princess Virginia | C. N. Williamson
  • As soon as one leaves the hut the cold smites one in the face like a mailed fist.

  • To a brilliant living monarch we owe the phrase "mailed fist," a translation of Ger.

  • But she would not have it so, and she chose to follow the principle of relying on the "mailed fist."

    Before the War | Viscount Richard Burton Haldane